When Kevin Dresser first took over as the Iowa State wrestling coach, he made it a point to recruit in-state talent. On Friday, Dresser landed the commitment of yet another Iowa prep wrestling star — but this time, it came through the transfer market.

Ethan Andersen, a former Southeast Polk standout, announced Friday that he plans to transfer from Oklahoma State to Iowa State. Andersen had spent the last two seasons in Stillwater, and will have three years of eligibility remaining once he gets to Ames this summer.

“I’m very excited to be part of the beginning of a new era,” Andersen told the Register. “It’s going to be something special.”

Andersen will add some heavyweight depth to the Cyclones’ roster, a welcomed move after Marcus Harrington’s decision to leave the program. Gannon Gremmel is the only other heavyweight on Iowa State’s roster. Francis Duggan, a 2018 signee out of Iowa City West who projects at both 197/285, is on the way as well.

Andersen’s name will sound familiar: He was an Iowa high school star, winning 184 matches and two state titles for Southeast Polk before graduating in 2016. He made the Cadet Greco-Roman World Team in 2014, and won a bronze medal at the 2015 Cadet Pan-American Championships.

A top-100 recruit in the 2016 class, Andersen took his talents to Oklahoma State after graduating. He posted a 10-4 record during his redshirt year, then went 15-5 with 11 pins this past season after losing the starting heavyweight spot to Derek White, who ultimately went 25-4 reached the quarterfinals at the NCAA Championships.

After losing the starting spot, Andersen began thinking of transferring to a place where he could be the starter. Around that same time, Dresser and Co. had settled in at Iowa State, where they secured the nation’s 11th best 2018 recruiting class while leading the Cyclones to eight dual victories during the 2017-18 season.

"When Iowa State got the new coaching staff, I was, like, 'This is a pretty big deal,'" Andersen said. “I was jealous of some of the guys that were going there.”

As Andersen further contemplated his decision, the pros of returning close to home far outweighed the cons in his mind. He felt the pull even more so in late March, when his father, Robert, passed away unexpectedly. He was 45.

All of those factors combined caused Andersen to take a visit. He felt at ease on campus in Ames, which is just 44 minutes from Altoona, his hometown. He grew up an Iowa State fan, his childhood bedroom decked out in cardinal and gold.

“I was at all the meets, cheering on Jake Varner and David Zabriskie and Jon Reader,” Andersen said. “I wanted to wrestle for Cael Sanderson — that was the goal, growing up, for me.

“There’s nothing like the support and community aspect of wrestling in Iowa. Getting away from that — it was not a culture shock, but having all of those people and all that love and support, and then leaving it and being on your own — it was tougher than I thought it would be.”

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Ethan Andersen of Southeast Polk wrestles Tyler Pasker of Prairie-Cedar Rapids during their 3A first round matchup at the State Championships in Des Moines on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2016.(Photo: Brian Powers/The Register)

On Friday, Andersen made his move official with an announcement on Twitter. His commitment is the latest in a series of recruiting moves made by Iowa State to revamp the roster and build a foundation for the future.

And Andersen can’t wait to be a part of it all.

“I’m excited,” he said. “I’m locked and loaded and ready to go.”

Cody Goodwin covers wrestling and high school sports for the Des Moines Register. Follow him on Twitter at @codygoodwin.